After a drawn out investigation into the death of Sheena Morris in Bradenton Beach 12 years ago, a grand jury has eliminated the possibility of homicide.
Manatee County grand jurors found that evidence from the case was “insufficient to establish that the death of Sheena Morris was a homicide,” according to a May 14 news release from 12th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Ed Brodsky.
Morris, 22, from Tampa, was found hanging by a dog leash from a shower in her room in the BridgeWalk Resort in Bradenton Beach on New Year’s Day 2009.
She was born in Syracuse, New York, where she lived for 18 years before moving to Tampa. Her parents, Kelly and Kevin Osborn, described her as a happy and “bubbly” young woman.
Bradenton Beach Police Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz was the first to determine Morris’ death was a suicide.
Morris had been involved earlier Jan. 1, 2009, in a physical altercation with her boyfriend, Joe Genoese, who has denied any part in her death and has never been charged in connection with her death.
Genoese had an alibi for the time of death.
Several investigations into the case were opened at the behest of Morris’ parents, who have refused to accept Diaz’s conclusion and maintain their daughter was murdered. They have repeatedly pressed to reopen the case and created a website to share their perspective. They also mounted a media campaign to reopen the case and appeared on the Dr. Phil TV show.
In January 2020, Brodsky handed the case over to the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution. The office then handed the case off to a grand jury, which ruled out homicide after hearing from experts involved in the case and Morris’ family members.
“I am disappointed and exhausted from the last 12 years. It was a long-fought battle to have Sheena’s case heard. It is my opinion that the ‘evidence is insufficient’ because the Bradenton Beach Police Department failed to do their jobs 12 years ago,” Kelly Osborn wrote May 17 on her Facebook page titled “Justice 4 Sheena.”
“I would like to thank Ed Brodsky for turning the case over to the office of statewide prosecution and for Cass Castillo’s hard work. I would like to thank the jurors for their hard work as well,” Osborn wrote.